Ruin of the Shadow King
by Narcissa.Blue
Summary: "Come on dad, take it all out on me. Don't spare me. Just hit me, try to forgive me and leave Tamaki alone." Yaoi. Main focus on Kyouya. Contains abuse. May get pretty dark.
1. Chapter 1

Ouran highschool hostclub fanfic focussing on Kyouya. Will contain Yaoi. Maybe somewhat harsh in the future. Abuse.  
I have lot's of ideas, but I don't know if I'll have the time and patience to write it all down. I apologize in advance.

Enjoy! :)

"Good evening, this is the Ootori Household speaking, how may I help you?" a polite voice answered the phone.

"Good evening!" spoke a cheerful somewhat over-enthusiastic, melodic voice, "Tamaki speaking, I've been trying to reach Kyouya, I haven't seen him at school and he hasn't shown up at the host club activities, but he wasn't reported ill either and his phone is dead, or maybe he lost it? Haha! No. Impossible. I find it hard to imagine Kyouya-kun without his phone! Anyway, can I speak to him? I mean... don't wake him up if he's asleep - really, please don't - but maybe you could see if he's still up and if he's not, ask him to call me back later? Or maybe I can come over sometime soon? Tomorrow? Maybe we can all come over! Though, maybe he wouldn't - well, in any case, could you tell him we need him? The host club can't survive without him! I have some new ideas for themes this upcoming autumn - actually, I can't come up with anything new, that's why I really need him! - we should go through it soon and also, we're running out of cake, I do not wish to risk the wrath of Honey-senpai - I mean - sorry - I got carried away - anyway - yes - right. Kyouya, could I speak to him please?"

"I am sorry to disappoint you, Suoh-san. The young master is not at home." the polite voice replied.

Tamaki didn't give up so easily. "Pretty pleaaaaase with sugar on top?" he purred into the telephone.

"The young master is not at home. He left five days ago." the polite voice repeated.

Struck by surprise, Tamaki was left speechless for a few seconds - a rare occasion for the King. He recovered fast though. "Left? LEFT? I am afraid I do not understand, is Kyouya going on vacation the first week of school? Surely not! Silly Kyouya, and he's always so serious about school - I mean, he's serious about everything really. Perhaps not. But mostly, yes! So, where did he go?"

"That, I cannot tell you, Suoh-san." the polite voice replied. "However, the young master is not on vacation."

"No? What then? He is not ill is he? Is he in the hospital?! O no! Kyouya! We-"

"He has been transferred to study abroad." the polite voice interrupted. Yet another dumbfound silence followed.

"To... study... abroad..." Tamaki repeated mechanically. His blue eyes widened in mere surprise and disbelief. He simply couldn't believe his best friend would just leave to study abroad without so much as mentioning a word! Especially after what happened this summer... Though perhaps... that could have been the reason of his sudden disappearance? Tamaki bit his lip. Surely not...

"Ah... for how long?"

"It is not clear yet."

"I see... well, perhaps you could tell me where he went, so I can visit? We can all visit as soon as it's vacation! Or perhaps this weekend already? We could even have a special host club event abroad!"

"I cannot disclose this information to you Suoh-san."

A knot was starting to form in Tamaki's chest. He dropped his cheerful act and spoke more softly with a serious undertone "... Why not?"

The voice remained silent.

"Is Kyouya... angry with me?" Tamaki asked even more softly.

Still no response.

Tamaki swallowed. "Could you at least give me his new contact information so I can try to contact him? Please, if you could do that, I would be most grateful."

The voice replied again, ever so politely: "The young master has your number. I will let him know you called and I am sure he will contact you himself - should he wish to do so. Until that time, please refrain from distracting him any further. He is very busy."

The words were like a bucket of ice.

"Now, if that was all, please excuse me. I will hang up now. Thank you for calling and good luck with your studies, Suoh-san. Farewell."

The polite voice hung up and Tamaki was left speechless on the other side with glistening eyes and slightly opened mouth in disbelief, listening to the beeping pulse of the dead line on the other side. He clenched his fists and after a moment put down the phone as well. This would not do. Whateve1r it was Kyouya was angry at him for, he would do everything in his power to make it up to him. And besides, this kind of behavior was somehow... un-Kyouya-like. Tamaki frowned and shook his head, lost in thought. Something seemed to be off.


	2. Chapter 2

One week before.

Kyouya entered the dimly lit office of his father. Yoshio sat in his office chair with his back to the entrance, facing the huge window through which you could overlook the city. It was a marvelous sight, a view befitting an emperor, which was perhaps not too far from the truth.

"Good evening, father. You wished to see me?" Kyouya's heart had jumped when he received message his father wished to see him in his office tonight. He wondered what it was about, though he had a strange inkling it wouldn't be pleasant.

"Yes." The tone of his father's voice would not reveal much.

A long pause followed, but Kyouya knew better than to ask, so he waited patiently. It had been a while since his father last give him a beating, Kyouya had carefully managed to avoid slip-ups and couldn't think of anything he did to disgruntle his father lately. That is, unless he had somehow found out about...

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Although Yoshio's voice was calm and controlled, his son knew him long enough to notice a hint of anger.

Kyouya swallowed back his quickly rising fear. _Does he know? It can't be. We were cautious._

"Nothing in particular comes to mind, father." Kyouya replied, sounding casually surprised.

"I see... You disappoint me."

 _Does he know? What else can it be? No. Don't jump to conclusions. Let's try..._

"Are you disappointed because I didn't attend the dinner with-"

Yoshio swung his chair around and slammed his fist on the desk, startling his son. "Don't play games with me, Kyouya! Don't you dare!"

Panick was quickly rising in Kyouya's chest. "I'm not-"

"DO NOT INSULT ME!" Yoshio yelled slamming his hand on the desk again.

Kyouya stared at his furious father as the grueling realization struck.

 _He knows. O God, he knows._

Yoshio got up and maneuvered around his desk, slowly approaching his son. Kyouya needed all his will-power not to take a step back, but he knew he was not to show weakness to his father. Especially not now.

 _He knows, but I do not know how much and who from. I can convince him it's a lie. Just keep a clear head and minimize the damage._

"Tell me," Yoshio had to take a deep breath before he was able to pose the question, "are you in a relationship with Suoh Tamaki?"

Kyouya's brains were working at top-speed. He could still turn this around. He _had to_ turn this around somehow. "Well, yes... I suppose?" he answered veining confusion with a small frown. When his father squinted his eyes at him, he returned a puzzled look. "Tamaki is my friend." Kyouya spoke carefully, deigning not to fully understand what it was his father meant exactly by 'relationship'. And after a pause he was bold enough to add in a slightly more dismayed manner: "You told me to befriend the heir of the Suoh family, do you remember, father? And so I did. What is it you are angry with me for? I did as you commanded, as I always do - or at least try to."

The anger slowly disappeared from his father's face and was replaced by a smile.

 _He bought it. We're saved._

Yet, the smile was a weary one. Yoshio raised his hand to stroke back a strand of hair from his son's face. An uncommonly gentle gesture, alerting Kyouya something was off.

 _Stay calm, the situation is already starting to defuse. Play it smart, don't let him smell your fear._

"I know, son, I know you do." The older man sighed. "And you do so well, most of the time. I remember telling you to befriend Suoh's son." Yoshio smiled again in that same strange manner. "And I remember how much you resented him, in the beginning at least... But you managed to turn your worst enemy into your best friend.-"

 _Actually_ , _that was more his doing than it was mine._ Kyouya suppressed a smile.

"An admirable accomplishment. You know why you were able to do so, son?"

 _Tamaki saw right through me._ Kyouya didn't respond and tried hard not to look away. _Right from the start._

"It is because you are such an excellent liar, Kyouya. Truly, excellent."

 _Well, that's because I learned from the best, father._

"But you are fully aware of this."

This was not going in the right direction.

"Why else would you dare to look your own father in the eye and _lie_ to him, Kyouya?"

And with the same hand that had caressed Kyouya so gently only moments before, Yoshio ruthlessly hit his son across the face. Hard enough to make the boy stumble and drop to the floor dizzy.

 _Fuck._

"You disappoint me, Kyouya. You let yourself be seduced by that boy. I can understand, to an extent. You are not the only one skilled at manipulation. Suoh Tamaki knows how to wind people around his finger, he is after all an illegitimate bastard and now it appears he is also a manipulative slut.-"

 _TAMAKI IS NO SLUT HOW DARE YOU- No. Swallow it. Don't make it worse._

"- He will have learnt that from his mother, the French slut that seduced his father."

 _No. Keep quiet. Keep it to yourself._

"But for _you_ to _lose control_ over your actions Kyouya,-"

 _That's right, control yourself, Kyouya. The damage is done. Now minimize the consequences. Don't make it worse._

"-for _you_ to put your own _selfish interests_ before the family, that is what truly concerns me - no, _pains_ me, even."

 _Have I pained you now, father? Me, you?_

"What do you think would happen if this leaks out to the press? What would happen to the company? And who would want to marry you? Or any of your siblings? Do you have _any idea_ what could have happened,-"

 _I thought we were careful. Apparently not._

"-just because you chose to indulge your _filthy_ _lust_ for that bastard boy!"

 _It wasn't like that. It isn't._

"I have never been this disappointed in my entire life." Yoshio was breathing heavily and looked down on his son, who was still sitting motionless on the floor.

 _He hates me._

Kyouya faced down, hiding behind his hair, although he knew it was signaling weakness and his father hated that. He was also on the verge of tears and there was nothing his father hated more. He thought of Tamaki and resisted the urge to clench his fists. How dare his father say those things about Tamaki? He may be a love child, but manipulative? Surely if someone deserved the mark of a manipulative - No. He was not to be angry with his father. Things would only escalate further.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Kyouya managed to swallow back his angry tears. "I-"

"Look me in the eye when you speak to me."

The boy raised his head.

 _I will not cry. I will not defy him. I will not show weakness. I will not cry. I will not defy him. I will not show weakness. I will not..._

"I have nothing to say in my own defense. You are right, father. I have been selfish. Selfish and stupid. But I hope you believe me when I say it was never my intention to disappoint you or jeopardize the family. It wasn't. Truly." His voice sounded more bitter than he had meant to. Kyouya couldn't make up any soothing excuses, for he did not know how much his father knew. He couldn't risk more lies. His last sentence was no lie though, he meant it from the bottom of his heart. Would Yoshio be able to tell?

His father gave a stiff nod. "I want to believe you."

 _So believe me. Believe me, please believe me._

After a long pause, Kyouya softly asked, without breaking eye-contact: "Will you please forgive me, father."

Yoshio remained silent, his face unreadable. Then, he extended his hand, to help his son up. Kyouya gratefully took his father's hand and almost couldn't believe it himself when, once he was up on his two feet again, his own father embraced him.

"I will forgive you Kyouya..."

Kyouya hesitantly returned the embrace by awkwardly placing his own arms around his father's muscular torso. He smelled his father's scent and felt happiness well up in his chest.

His father forgave him.

His father embraced him.

His father...

"... but you will have to pay dearly for what you have done,"

 _Of course. Anything._

"- and Suoh Tamaki must be destroye-"

"NO! Tamaki isn't-" Kyouya interrupted, but he broke off his sentence when he felt his father's arms tighten around him. Too late. His father broke the embrace, but held on to his upper arms and looked at him with wide eyes and clenched jaw, looking like an angry bull.

"You are defending him now?"

Kyouya bit his inner cheeks. _Do not answer. Do not let him provoke you._

"You have become weak, you are under his spell."

 _No. This is my mess. I can not let Tamaki be dragged into this any further. I will not let him take the blame. I will not risk it._

Kyouya mustered all his courage. "I may be weak, but Tamaki is not to blame. He never meant to... seduce me... or anything like that, I am sure. He has only ever been kind to me, because it is his nature. It is not his fault I... Not his fault..."

His father's hands painfully squeezed his upper arms, as if trying to clutch onto the silence, preventing his son from uttering the words that were to follow, for he dreaded them.

Kyouya paused. _He will destroy Tamaki. Tamaki, who saw right through him. Tamaki, his first friend, his best friend, his... His Tamaki. His beautiful Tamaki._

Three soft words escaped Ootori Kyouya's lips. The air grew thicker. The world was crumbling.

Yoshio let go of his son. The boy looked at the hunched figure of his father and for a moment strangely felt sorry for him. He couldn't move nor speak. Neither of them could. For a moment, time seemed to have come to a halt. The air was thick and still. Two men, father and son. So close, yet so far apart.

 _But Tamaki is safe._

Yoshio was the one to break the silence. "I see you can no longer be reasoned with." He averted his head, unable to look at his son.

 _He is disgusted by me._

Kyouya opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. He knew it was a dead end. Nothing could be said to convince his father from here on. Was this it? Would he be thrown out of the family now, forced to lead a hidden life, away from everyone and everything. Maybe that wouldn't even be so bad. Or would his father...

Yoshio's cold voice shook Kyouya from his thoughts. "It's been a while since I've had to discipline you, Kyouya." Yoshio's stern eyes returned to his son. He had regained some of his resolve.

Kyouya's stomach turned. He knew what was coming and he knew better than to resist. Part of him rejoiced.

 _He won't give up on me. He is disgusted by me, but he won't give up on me._

It was only a very small part though, which was quickly overcome by a growing sense of dread.

"I'll use your belt, so take it off."

The boy shakily undid his black leather belt and handed it to his father.

"Don't drag." Yoshio pulled the belt from his son's hands with impatience.

The boy continued to undo the buttons of his blouse, trying to conceal the shaking of his hands. His father sighed, again communicating his impatience to get started with the necessary punishment. "Control your hands. It is unseemly for a man to show fear."

Kyouya raised his head and looked his father in the eye, revealing a hint of anger in his eyes- yet another slip-up.

His father gave him a surprised look. "I see. So you are mad with me now?"

Kyouya looked down again and cursed inwardly. Well, his father was right about one thing: he had to start regain control over himself. Ever since he met Tamaki he had gotten more used to lowering his guard. Now he would have to pay for it. "No father." Kyouya answered, trying to ban all emotion from his voice, but not quite succeeding.

His father grunted in dismay. "Another lie. And an unconvincing one at that."

Kyouya finished undoing his buttons and dropped his shirt on the floor.

"Do you think I am treating you unjustly?"

"It is not my place to judge your actions, father."

"You're damn right it isn't. As your father it is mine to judge yours. Even so, I am interested to hear your thoughts on the matter, so go ahead."

Kyouya inhaled through his nose in an effort to calm himself. Perhaps if he told his father what he wanted to hear, he could still save his skin - literally. But while he was still searching for the right words, he suddenly remembered what Tamaki had said to him, when he found out about the abuse: 'Reason or no reason, I don't believe there is any justification for a parent to physically abuse their child in any circumstance whatsoever.' Too late Kyouya realized he had said the words out loud. He looked at his father, unsure of what would happen next. His father looked back with a strange expression on his otherwise so stern face, as if he was looking at a stranger, seeing his son for the first time without being able to recall who he actually was.

"You have truly changed." The older man stated, still puzzled by the bold answer of his otherwise so cautious son. His youngest, his brilliant little Kyouya, smart and talented, strong and beautiful, just like his mother... But his favorite had shattered his world, both their worlds, and now he would shatter him.

Yoshiro's face returned to it's usual stern expression and his eyes darkened. "I am sorry to hear you say that, Kyouya. And I cannot help but wonder who put that naive idea into your head. I suspect it has to do with _him_ again, am I right?"

 _Shit. I cannot lie and I cannot tell the truth, but I must keep Tamaki out of this._ Kyouya tried very hard to keep his calm. "I..." he started, but the sentence died away, leaving another deadly silence.

 _I'm done for._

"Don't think I take any more pleasure in this than you do!"

"I doubt it." the words left Kyouya's lips without thought and he immediately regretted having uttered them.

 _Idiot. Fucking. Idiot._

His father's voice became dangerously soft and even more deadly. "I will not tolerate your selfishness nor your arrogance. I may have failed you as a father, I have been far too soft on you lately. I know it's partly my fault you were lead astray, this is why I am willing to take part of the responsibility for your actions."

 _How admirable of yours._

"I will personally make sure you will never, and I mean _never_ , be tempted by Suoh Tamaki again."

 _As long as you do nothing to hurt him._

"I will erase him from your mind and tonight, all the feelings of lust that you hold for him, feelings you have mistaken for..."

 _Go on, say it. It's not a dirty word._

"... _love,_ because of your youthful naivety, everything that has lead you to your selfish actions; I will beat it all out of you."

 _Do it. Just shut up and hit me._

Kyouya had no snide remarks left. He looked for the place inside his mind where no one could reach him, the place he used to go to all the previous times his father had seen fit to discipline him. His eyes went blank. He saw a pair of blue eyes gazing back at him. He heard _his_ childish laugh. He heard his own name. _Kyouya! Mon ami!_ He smiled faintly. Then he tried to block it all. He tried desperately not to think of Tamaki. Not to think at all. Just shut off.

 _Do as your father says. Obey your father. Come on dad, take it all out on me. Don't spare me. Just hit me, try to forgive me and leave Tamaki alone._

"Hands against the wall, Kyouya, you know the procedure."

The boy did as commanded and waited for the first lash to land.

When it did, it burned.

It was only the beginning.

Kyouya tried to smother his agonized cries.

He couldn't.

After he had lost count,

fallen to the floor,

devoid of emotion,

consumed by pain,

his father dropped the belt.

"Dress yourself."

Kyouya crawled over the floor and reached for the bloodstained belt and his blouse. Luckily both were black. Less messy that way.

Yoshio walked through the office and opened the door, but halted before closing it and spoke without glancing back at the miserable lump that was his son.

"I do this because I love you, Kyouya. You may not understand now, but in time, when you have children of your own, I know you will."

He paused. Kyouya didn't respond. He was completely numb.

"You will thank me for it later."

The door clicked shut.


End file.
